Humbert

by John Burningham

Humbert the horse loves working with Mr. Firkin, the scrap-iron dealer, but he envies the grand life of the brewery horses who pull the Lord Mayor’s golden coach. As the day of the Lord Master’s Show begins, Humbert watches from the sidelines, feeling small and shabby—until a disaster suddenly places him center stage.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bur...

Married to Helen Oxenbury They have one son and two daughters.

John Burningham was born in 1936 in Farnham, Surrey, and attended the alternative school, Summerhill. In 1954 he spent two years travelling through Italy, Yugoslavia and Israel, working at a variety of jobs.

From 1956-1959, he studied at the Central School of Art, after which he designed posters for London Transport and the British Transport Commission. He also spent a year on an animated puppet film in the Middle East. He then became a writer and illustrator of children's books, his first book, Borka: The Adventures of a Goose With No Feathers (1963) winning the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1963, an achievement he repeated with Mr Gumpy's Outing (1970).

Since then, he has written and illustrated many children's books. He is also a freelance designer of murals, exhibitions models, magazine illustrations and advertisements.

Reviews

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humbert, the central character, is a horse who has to pull a scrap dealer's cart. I loved the illustrations in JB's painterly style. Humbert attends the Lord Mayor's show and has to step in to save the day. I loved this faithful rendition of the tradition of the Show which continues to this day. The ideas of horse and carts, pubs that provide stabling for horses etc, has long gone, but in 1965 was probably still pertinent. This is a story about snobbery and the least posh winning the day. Humbert is the hero. JB devotes his book to Scrap Dealers, Brewers, Coal Merchants, Lord Mayors and all who continue to use horses. These days that is especially rare in towns. It was so evocative of the City of London when the Lord Mayor travels through the Square Mile with all the pageantry that that kind of tradition involves. His coach can be seen in the Museum of London.

[Tina Hoggatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book for its hero and for its stellar illustrations. Also because it is so satisfying for a child to read about a character who gets to be the surprise hero and satisfy its greatest wish.

[Guilherme Semionato · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5. Open Library.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading this book when I was younger. It's one of my favorites only because it had a horse in it, and I loved horses, and because I enjoyed the illustrations.